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Who is more well-known world-wide? (1 Viewer)

Who is more well known, world-wide, Barack Obama or Lionel Messi?

  • Barack Obama

    Votes: 144 74.6%

  • Lionel Messi

    Votes: 49 25.4%
  • Total voters
    193
B

bcdjr1

Footballguy
This was a discussion that I was having with some friends yesterday, so I thought I'd bring it here.

The question is not which is more popular or well-liked, but which has the most people who would know the name.

And this is talking about world-wide. I know that more people in the US will know Barack Obama as opposed to Messi, but what about the rest of the world?

 
I really don't think this is even close.

Edit: If you were to say something like Obama or Taylor Swift, it probably gets closer. I'd suspect more people still know who David Beckham is over Messi. I don't really know who Messi is apart from a soccer player and I follow sports in general.

 
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bigmarc27 said:
I really don't think this is even close.

Edit: If you were to say something like Obama or Taylor Swift, it probably gets closer. I'd suspect more people still know who David Beckham is over Messi. I don't really know who Messi is apart from a soccer player and I follow sports in general.
Click to expand...
The argument for Messi was that, while not a lot of people in the US know who Messi is, he's probably the best soccer player in the world right now. And that soccer is such a cultural phenomenon in the rest of the world that almost everyone in the rest of the world knows who he is. Little kids may not have been alive when Beckham was playing and so they won't know who he is, but they know Messi. And that Obama is only really relevant to Americans, and people in other countries don't really care who is the President of the United States.

 
bcdjr1 said:
bigmarc27 said:
I really don't think this is even close.

Edit: If you were to say something like Obama or Taylor Swift, it probably gets closer. I'd suspect more people still know who David Beckham is over Messi. I don't really know who Messi is apart from a soccer player and I follow sports in general.
Click to expand...
The argument for Messi was that, while not a lot of people in the US know who Messi is, he's probably the best soccer player in the world right now. And that soccer is such a cultural phenomenon in the rest of the world that almost everyone in the rest of the world knows who he is. Little kids may not have been alive when Beckham was playing and so they won't know who he is, but they know Messi. And that Obama is only really relevant to Americans, and people in other countries don't really care who is the President of the United States.
Click to expand...
I totally get the crux of the argument, I just don't think your last sentence is correct at all. I think Obama is quite well know across the world even to those who don't actively follow global politics and news.

 
Also, one big factor in why I think it would be Messi is kids. If we were talking just adults then it's probably Obama - but there's a lot of kids out there and I think that puts Lionel over the top.

 
bigmarc27 said:
I really don't think this is even close.

Edit: If you were to say something like Obama or Taylor Swift, it probably gets closer. I'd suspect more people still know who David Beckham is over Messi. I don't really know who Messi is apart from a soccer player and I follow sports in general.
Click to expand...
Pretty sure this is laughable - we are talking world-wide, not just U.S.

 
bigmarc27 said:
bcdjr1 said:
bigmarc27 said:
I really don't think this is even close.

Edit: If you were to say something like Obama or Taylor Swift, it probably gets closer. I'd suspect more people still know who David Beckham is over Messi. I don't really know who Messi is apart from a soccer player and I follow sports in general.
Click to expand...
The argument for Messi was that, while not a lot of people in the US know who Messi is, he's probably the best soccer player in the world right now. And that soccer is such a cultural phenomenon in the rest of the world that almost everyone in the rest of the world knows who he is. Little kids may not have been alive when Beckham was playing and so they won't know who he is, but they know Messi. And that Obama is only really relevant to Americans, and people in other countries don't really care who is the President of the United States.
Click to expand...
I totally get the crux of the argument, I just don't think your last sentence is correct at all. I think Obama is quite well know across the world even to those who don't actively follow global politics and news.
Click to expand...
Ok, to be fair, it was said that Obama would still be in the top 3 (the third being the Pope). It's just that soccer is REALLY big outside the US.

 
Who is the most recognizable person in the entire world? Now that Michael Jackson is dead I think it would be Hulk Hogan. Maybe Madonna...

 
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Btw the answer is Messi, because of the kids. Most kids don't care about politics but they love sports. If the poll was just adults, I'd say it would be close and that Obama would probably win.

 
fatguyinalittlecoat said:
shader said:
Btw the answer is Messi, because of the kids. Most kids don't care about politics but they love sports. If the poll was just adults, I'd say it would be close and that Obama would probably win.
Click to expand...
Most women don't care about sports. There are more women than kids.
Click to expand...
Yes. I'm also pretty sure Asians teach about world leaders in school. North Korea probably being the exception.

 
Answer might be different if Obama was only a year into his first term.

 
D_House said:
How big a deal is soccer in India and China?
Click to expand...
This was my thought too. I know rural Chinese may not know either, but you've got to think that a good number of Chinese know who the President (who has been in office for close to 7 years) of the United States (a major trading partner) is.

Although to be fair, I can't recall the name of the Chinese Premier.

 
Fennis said:
Obama and its not close
Click to expand...
Not so sure. I know plenty of people who couldn't tell you any other world leaders name. Why would that be any different outside the U.S.? Hell, there's people in the U.S. who have no idea who Obama is. Not many but once you get beyond our borders the U.S. isn't as important as we are sometimes led to believe.

 
AAABatteries said:
Fennis said:
Obama and its not close
Click to expand...
Not so sure. I know plenty of people who couldn't tell you any other world leaders name. Why would that be any different outside the U.S.? Hell, there's people in the U.S. who have no idea who Obama is. Not many but once you get beyond our borders the U.S. isn't as important as we are sometimes led to believe.
Click to expand...
I think guys like Putin and Kim Jong would both be universally known above any sports star. The kid aspect gives me pause, but I still think Obama would be the most well known.

 
fatguyinalittlecoat said:
shader said:
Btw the answer is Messi, because of the kids. Most kids don't care about politics but they love sports. If the poll was just adults, I'd say it would be close and that Obama would probably win.
Click to expand...
Most women don't care about sports. There are more women than kids.
Click to expand...
Most women (and men) don't care about politics. Worldwide, Messi is more well-known than the US president in all demographics imo - men, women, children. Not close.

 
fatguyinalittlecoat said:
shader said:
Btw the answer is Messi, because of the kids. Most kids don't care about politics but they love sports. If the poll was just adults, I'd say it would be close and that Obama would probably win.
Click to expand...
Most women don't care about sports. There are more women than kids.
Click to expand...
My wife hates sports more than any woman on the face of the earth.

She still knows who Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Lebron James are.

Messi and Ronaldo are household names in virtually every country on earth, aside from the US and possibly Canada.

 
CletiusMaximus said:
fatguyinalittlecoat said:
shader said:
Btw the answer is Messi, because of the kids. Most kids don't care about politics but they love sports. If the poll was just adults, I'd say it would be close and that Obama would probably win.
Click to expand...
Most women don't care about sports. There are more women than kids.
Click to expand...
Most women (and men) don't care about politics. Worldwide, Messi is more well-known than the US president in all demographics imo - men, women, children. Not close.
Click to expand...
I bet over 50% of US adults couldn't name the leader of a different country if asked, and if they did it would probably be Kim Jong-un, because of the hollywood movie. I suppose people in this country are so US-centric, that we think that it's all US all the time overseas.

I do imagine that Obama is the most well-known president of all-time, but there's no chance he's on the level of Messi or Ronaldo.

 
Sinn Fein said:
Who is the head of state of China (2 years)?

Japan (3 years)?

India (1)?

France (3)?

Italy (1)?

Brazil (4)?
Click to expand...
I only know with certainty Japan and Brazil, but you can't really compare someone who has been the leader of the most powerful (economically, politically and militarily) nation on Earth (for the past 7 years - longer than most on your list) with the leader of any other nation.

eta current leader's tenor. All 4 years or less.

 
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Top 20 countries by population:

China

India

US

Indonesia

Brazil

Pakistan

Nigeria

Bangladesh

Russia

Japan

Mexico

Phillipines

Vietnam

Ethiopia

Egypt

Germany

Iran

Turkey

Congo

France

I could get the head of state for 3 of the top twenty most popular countries...which is probably two more than most Americans.

 
Sinn Fein said:
Top 20 countries by population:

China

India

US

Indonesia

Brazil

Pakistan

Nigeria

Bangladesh

Russia

Japan

Mexico

Phillipines

Vietnam

Ethiopia

Egypt

Germany

Iran

Turkey

Congo

France

I could get the head of state for 3 of the top twenty most popular countries...which is probably two more than most Americans.
Click to expand...
No one said a thing about the other heads of State, they're talking about Obama "leader of the free world."

 
Prime Minister of Canada has apparently been in office since 2006 - I had no idea who he was. I knew who Rob Ford was though - so there is that.

 
The point is - the likelihood of people outside of the US knowing the US president is lower than you think.

While players like Messi and Ronaldo play the worlds most popular sport, on the two most popular teams in the world.

 
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